Users of Windows who have set the Automatic Updates option to "Download updates for me, but let me choose when to install them" were surprised to find that the latest WMF patch had overridden these settings and not only installed the patch, but rebooted the machines as well.

It would be much more reasonable to say this MIGHT be happening under a few rare circumstances, not the outright "Microsoft Installs Patch Without Permission" headline that makes it seem like a 100%-of-the-time occurance.

Knowing how badly f***ed up some people's Windows boxes are, I wouldn't be surprised if this is doing things to them that it shouldn't.

Although I wasn't there to witness it myself, a family member complained to me that this happened to her computer. There was a dialogue to postpone the reboot, which was on a countdown, but she decided to get it over with and was around so nothing was lost. The whole thing was described in good detail, I have no doubt that the dialog was going to shut the computer down automatically when the timer expired.

I'd take that family member's word over anyone who thinks that because it didn't happen to them it must be impossible, especially when those people are obvious Windows apologists.